Leggings and yoga pants, and what they reveal, led to a discussion of the local school dress code by the Alamance-Burlington Board of Education this week.

School board members eventually decided the policy doesn’t need immediate tweaking, but agreed to keep an eye on it as circumstances demand.

Discussion about the dress code came after board vice chair Patsy Simpson addressed the issue of female students wearing leggings and yoga pants that might not leave enough to the imagination. Western Alamance and Williams high schools, administrators say, already have policies in place that address the issue.

Specifically, Simpson spoke of students wearing the tight pants coupled with “very short T-shirts not covering their buttocks.”

Simpson worried the pants might prove a distraction, at one point in the meeting motioning to the outside hallway and saying, “When the bell rings, (you’ll see) at least 20 girls with leggings or yoga pants.”

System officials said enforcement of the dress code, is largely up to the good judgment of students and their parents, the one-page code itself stating as much. Its first two sentences read: “The appearance of any young person is primarily the responsibility of that individual and his/her parents. Each student is expected to maintain an appearance that is neither distracting to other students nor disruptive to the educational environment and healthy climate of the schools.”

Charles Monroe, assistant superintendent of administration, said when administrators at individual schools feel a student has overstepped the boundaries of good taste, it’s up to them to decide when to take action.

He said the student is sent to in-school suspension or somewhere similar until his or her parents arrive with a change of clothes. Monroe said if the situation persists, students are given both verbal and written warnings. In extreme circumstances, they can be sent home.

Her fellow board members agreed with Simpson that inappropriate dress like too-tight and revealing yoga pants were inappropriate in school settings, but also wondered aloud about the dangers of fine-tuning the dress code too strictly

“If it gets too specific, we’re constantly having to change,” said board member Jackie Cole, referring to clothing fads that come and go.

She said she agrees that dressing appropriately for school is something that students and parents should handle without administrators being required to intervene.

“What’s the difference?” Cole asked Simpson. “It’s the parents. You and I would stop (our children from going to school as some students dress).”

Pam Thompson, who was elected to the school board just last fall, asked if administrators had considered requiring students to wear uniforms.

“It’s just something to think about,” she said. “It puts everyone on a level playing field.”

Thompson then paused before admitting the reaction the implementation of such a policy would elicit from both students and parents.

“They would freak,” she said, laughing.

Thompson was told school board members discussed six or seven years ago implementing a policy that would require students to wear uniforms.